


Tonight

by hisboywriter



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-18
Updated: 2013-09-18
Packaged: 2017-12-27 00:10:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/971932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hisboywriter/pseuds/hisboywriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haruka's confession after episode 11 leaves Makoto wondering about their dynamic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tonight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Stefany](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Stefany).



> Originally this had smuttiness until I realized the situation didn't merit it. So I'll be posting a smutty follow-up to this because...because.

 

**-X-**

 

_“I appreciate you being here for me.”_

 

Neither fatigue nor the upcoming tournament softened the impact of those words. They replayed in Makoto’s mind, in exact detail, like the hint of timidity at the end or the way Haruka had said his name,  and each time it sounded fresh, as if it was the first time hearing them all over again.

 

His legs itched to go after Haruka, if only to maintain a comfortable distance on his run. But years of studying and digesting Haruka had Makoto well established in Haruka-language (or lack thereof). This was one time he couldn’t hurry after his friend.

 

Friend. They were friends at the least, that much Makoto was always grateful for. Still, the word rung taut in his mind, barred down with restrictions that had seemed as impenetrable as a fortress. Makoto had long made peace with it, as was his nature to do so on matters that concerned others’ wellbeing.

 

Some days though it was frustrating being who he was, stuck on the other side of that fortress, unable to do anything but be there should the walls come crumbling down.

 

And then, a few shared words from Haruka had put a crack in it, just like that.

 

It left Makoto dizzy with possibilities and more than once he forced his grin to ease down. Reminding himself they had a big day tomorrow did nothing to quell the revelry going on inside him. Time held little power over him as the minutes stretched near an hour during Haruka’s absence. In that time Makoto had made no more sense of their circumstances beyond that funny way of everything looking more vibrant.

 

_Haru-chan…_

 

The doorknob clicked. Makoto stiffened, then remembered he should be sleeping and willed himself to play the part. He didn’t know where the paroxysm of anxiety came from, given that in the past he would have welcomed Haruka rather than bury into the blankets like a kid scared to be found out he had been playing instead of in bed dreaming.

 

It wasn’t like they now had a reason to tiptoe around each other.

 

Right?

 

At the sound of Haruka’s bed, Makoto wasn’t so sure.

 

Silence.

 

Makoto cracked opened his eyes to meet the blank wall. The urge to roll over swarmed through his limbs, but he forced himself still and listened. He couldn’t even make out Haruka’s breathing over the thrum of his own blood surging.

 

A soft sound, like a sigh. Then, the susurrus of fabric shifting, followed by the quiet shuffle of feet Makoto would know anywhere. His heart went from a skip to a solid pounding, his eyes fixated on the stretch of shadow that told him Haruka had come to the edge of his bed.

 

A creak, the dip of the bed, and Haruka came into his view, taking up one side of the bed as if it were as natural as sinking into the water. He didn’t look at Makoto right away, not until his form was still and all fell quiet around them. Makoto didn’t know how Haruka couldn’t feel the vibrations of his erratic heartbeat.

 

Haruka blinked, staring right at him. He had been out running, yet hardly looked the part.

 

In that one gesture, Makoto saw themselves as kids again, huddled up on a bed after another day of swimming. It had always been easy to coax Haruka to stay the night most of those days, especially with the promise of another trip to the water. In retrospect Makoto had to endlessly thank his parents for humoring their aquatic whims. Maybe they had known Haruka’s company made their son’s smile that much brighter, even in sleep.

 

Now the reason to have Haruka share a bed blemished those memories. Worse, Makoto couldn’t remember when imagining sleepovers had taken an explicit turned, or when Haruka’s eyes meeting his sparked a plethora of good, nervous feelings.

 

Somehow Makoto got the feeling his parents, or at least his mom, knew it too. No doubt she would still oblige a bizarre request if it meant Haruka stayed a little longer; as of now his mom made a point to box mackerel for their lunches if Haruka spent the night, and she smiled this funny way that left Makoto horrified with the speculation that she knew everything he’d kept in his own heart. He could sense her knowing eyes even as he stared back at Haruka.

 

Despite his clamoring heart, Makoto never could tear his gaze away. Maybe years of sneaking peeks had buffered him to the intensity that was Haruka’s stare, or maybe had him starved for it. He practically basked in its attention as much as he shivered from it.

 

Haruka’s eyebrows furrowed, and Makoto read it as a sign of concern.

 

At last, Makoto smiled and stepped out of his stupor to tug on the blanket. It yawned a gap that had plenty of room for Haruka’s smaller size.

 

Haruka glanced at the invitation. It was only a fraction of a heartbeat of waiting, but it didn’t stop Makoto’s fear from creeping its way into his mind.

 

Silently, Haruka shimmied into the offered space. The blanket cocooned them both, circulating Makoto’s body heat.

 

Makoto never felt so nervous, and the earlier complaint of having felt so paled in comparison. His fingers didn’t know where to set themselves down, so he tried for the small space between their bodies, hoping he looked calm.

 

His pinky brushed Haruka’s arm. It was enough to send his muscles on edge, his heart up five notches.

 

“Sorry,” he whispered.

 

He must have sounded as strained as he thought because Haruka’s gaze intensified a fraction of a moment more before looking away. He shifted beneath the blanket and, with no preamble, Makoto felt a familiar hand molding into his.

 

They’d held hands as kids, more than once, as kids are more prone to do. Makoto didn’t know exactly what it was that waned the habit into near non-existence (unless one didn’t count accidental hand touches), but he had never forgotten the feel of Haruka’s hand.

 

It was quiet like the rest of him, yet not at all void of sentiment or purpose. Everything came as subtext, to the way he gradually applied pressure in his palm, to the cute (there was no better word for it) manner in how the tips of his fingers, one at a time usually, grazed part of Makoto’s skin.

 

Makoto felt his body lulling into the touch, feeling that kind of relieved peace that trailed in the wake of a storm. He smiled softly at Haruka’s averted gaze and squeezed his hand.

 

“Thank you,” Makoto said.

 

Haruka looked at him again. “Thank you?”

 

“For letting me swim with you again.”

 

Makoto saw their past conversation unfold again in Haruka’s mind. It had been a true confession; Makoto missed swimming with his friends, but it was Haruka that made it worthwhile to dive into the water, that had motivated Makoto enough to confront the ocean turned furious by a storm.

 

Haruka’s eyes flicked away again. The pall of the night made it difficult to confirm if his cheeks had gone pink. “Ah,” was all he said back.

 

Makoto chuckled and leaned in without conscious thought. He’d done it as a kid once, supplying a peck to Haruka’s head. His mom had always done it before bedtime, and more so the nights he felt unwell either in spirit or health. So it had been a logical drive to do the same to little Haruka one night he stayed over and struggled with an upset stomach.

 

Now, Makoto realized too late that logic had taken no part in his actions. More importantly, he realized how _good_ it felt to have his lips find their target. He didn’t tear away instantly, some part of him unsure if he was mentally prepared to face the reaction, another part of him wanting to savor what might be the last of such a moment.

 

When he did start to pull back, his emotions tangled into a lump up in his throat.

 

Not five millimeters back, Haruka’s head lifted, and it wasn’t his head against Makoto’s mouth anymore.

 

“Ha-Haru,” the rest smoothed into a sound that might have been a sigh or moan, or a mixture of the two.

 

Haruka’s mouth, soft albeit firm, lingered for mere seconds. Makoto didn’t realize he had been swimming in the sensation, his eyes having shut at some point. When he opened them, Haruka’s face was definitely suffused with pinks. His expression, however, did little to betray that.

 

“It’ll help you sleep well,” Haruka eventually said.

 

It took Makoto’s occupied mind longer than expected to catch onto his meaning. A kiss to the forehead, a kiss on the mouth, each intended to ensure a good night’s sleep. Makoto had to laugh gently at that, and this time his hand had less trepidation about settling on Haruka’s waist, then dipping to rest at his low back.

 

“It will. Thank you.”

 

“Hm.” Haruka’s eyes drifted shut, the muscles beneath Makoto’s fingertips going lax. They bunched up for an instant as his eyes opened up again. He made to get up.

 

Makoto straightened up after him. “What’s wrong?”

 

“…I should shower. I went for a run.”

 

“Oh.” Makoto had long since adjusted to Haruka’s scent, sweat-heavy or not, that he didn’t detect any unpleasantries in the air, not even a trace of mackerel, which he appreciated far less than Haruka. “Um, wait…you could…”

 

Haruka did wait, peering at him expectantly.

 

“Um, that is, you could…take one in the morning,” Makoto said, then added quickly, “unless you feel uncomfortable.”

 

It sounded stupid to his ear, not far off from mourning the loss of Haruka’s presence. Makoto felt like a child all over again.

 

For a while, he thought Haruka would wander off without another word. After all, Makoto hardly saw himself as competition when it came to water. Or against anything else for that matter.

 

So when Haruka crawled back into bed, Makoto gaped like a fool for several heartbeats. Then, with smooth movements like he had done it countless times, he settled in beside Haruka and drew the blanket over them.

 

“Tomorrow,” Makoto said.

 

Haruka nestled into the same pillow as Makoto’s. “Tomorrow.”

 

Beneath the blanket, Makoto and Haruka’s hand settled in with one another. Whatever good fortune or good-natured deity favored Makoto today, he decided it best not to press it or think heavily on it. Tonight, he could mirror Haruka’s resolve and be free, or close to it.

 

After all, tomorrow could wait a little longer.

 

**-X-**


End file.
